Racket-tailed Treepie (Crypsirina temia)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Racket-tailed Treepie

Crypsirina temia (Daudin, 1800)

≈32 cmLength130 gWeight

It has a velvet-black forehead and a tail that broadens at the tip.

Busiest months: January–March · Most records: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Velvety black forehead
  2. Glossy green body, appearing black in dim light
  3. Long tail that broadens at the tip
  4. Cyan-blue iris; black bill, legs and feet

Voice

Harsh, often with wailing calls.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: January–March · Most records: Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam

Racket-tailed Treepie has been recorded at 169 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Cat Tien NPVietnam796 records
  2. Mahidol University [Kanchanaburi Campus]Thailand738 records
  3. Bang Pu – Recreation CenterThailand512 records
More places
  1. Cat Tien National Park – HQVietnam465 records
  2. Prek Toal Bird SanctuaryCambodia387 records
  3. Kaeng Krachan NP – Baan Maka Nature LodgeThailand381 records
  4. Kaeng Krachan NPThailand373 records
  5. Nam Kham Nature ReserveThailand343 records
  6. Kaeng Krachan NP – Bird's hideThailand327 records
  7. Phutthamonthon ParkThailand318 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ThailandCambodiaVietnamMyanmar (Burma)LaosSingaporeChina

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

Questions

How big is the Racket-tailed Treepie?

The Racket-tailed Treepie is about ≈32 cm long and weighs around 130 g.

Where does the Racket-tailed Treepie live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: eastern Myanmar to southern China and Vietnam and northern Malay Peninsula; disjunctly Java and Bali. It is most often recorded in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

When is the best time to see the Racket-tailed Treepie?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, February and March (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Racket-tailed Treepie endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Racket-tailed Treepie as Least Concern.

What does the Racket-tailed Treepie eat?

Main food: Omnivore.

What family is the Racket-tailed Treepie in?

It belongs to the family Crows, Jays (Corvidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈32 cm
Weight
130 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Omnivore
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
118 mm
Tail
179 mm
Bill
28 mm
Tarsus
28 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: eastern Myanmar to southern China and Vietnam and northern Malay Peninsula; disjunctly Java and Bali

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Crows, Jays Corvidae
Genus
Crypsirina

Other birds in the genus Crypsirina

Hooded TreepieHooded TreepieCrypsirina cucullataMalayan Black MagpieMalayan Black MagpiePlatysmurus leucopterusBornean Black MagpieBornean Black MagpiePlatysmurus aterrimusSiberian JaySiberian JayPerisoreus infaustusSichuan JaySichuan JayPerisoreus internigransCanada JayCanada JayPerisoreus canadensisBlack-collared JayBlack-collared JayCyanolyca armillataWhite-collared JayWhite-collared JayCyanolyca viridicyanusTurquoise JayTurquoise JayCyanolyca turcosaBeautiful JayBeautiful JayCyanolyca pulchra
Racket-tailed Treepie

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Ad Konings. ↗

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